Navalny anti-corruption group urges Biden to sanction Putin’s allies

BERLIN, GERMANY – JANUARY 23: Protesters hold a banner that reads “FREE NAVALNY” as around 2,500 supporters of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny protest to demand his release from Moscow prison on January 23, 2021 in Berlin. The demonstrators marched from the Federal Chancellery through the Russian embassy to the Brandenburg Gate and partly followed a call from Navalny to protest against Russian President Vladimir Putin. Navalny, who was arrested earlier this week after returning to Moscow from Germany, has called for protests against Putin across Russia, despite the Russian authorities refusing to do so and declaring the protests illegal. Berlin is home to a large Russian community of emigrants. (Photo by Omer Messinger / Getty Images)

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The Anti-Corruption Foundation of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, in a letter addressed to President Joe Biden, calls on the United States to impose sanctions on dozens of Russian oligarchs and government officials who accuse them of political persecution, human rights abuses and corruption.

Vladimir Ashkurov, who heads the Russian nonprofit founded by Navalny, told reporters on Saturday that he had emailed the letter to key officials in the Biden administration, including National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Foreign Secretary Tony Blinken and the Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

The call for sanction comes afterwards tens of thousands of demonstrators took part in nationwide protests last weekend after Navalny was arrested as soon as he returned to Russia from Germany.

Navalny recovered for months in Berlin after being poisoned by a nerve agent. The opposition leader blames the government of President Vladimir Putin for his poisoning.

“For years, Alexey Navalny has campaigned for sanctions against people who play a key role in supporting Putin and taking the lead in persecuting those who want to express their opinions freely and expose corruption in the system,” the letter said .

“Existing sanctions do not reach enough of the right people. The West must sanction the decision-makers who have made it national policy to rig, steal and poison elections.”

The letter contains a list of 35 Putin employees, including billionaire businessmen Roman Abramovich, Alisher Usmanov, Oleg Deripaska and Gennady Timchenko, as well as numerous government ministers.

The UK and the European Union imposed sanctions on several Russian people in response to the poisoning of Navalny last year. The US hasn’t done the same yet, despite members of Congress urging former President Donald Trump to do the same.

Biden urged Putin to release Navalny in a private phone call with the Russian President. The White House has also instructed US intelligence agencies to investigate the Kremlin’s alleged involvement in the poisoning of Navalny.

“He did not hold back from expressing his concern about the treatment of Alexei Navalny and his treatment of protesters,” said the White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters on January 28th.

In an unexpected January 27 address by Putin at a virtual meeting of the World Economic Forum, the Russian President warned of an “all for all” battle if global tensions and the coronavirus pandemic are not resolved.

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